The present invention, Alocasia ‘Dark Star’, relates to a new and distinct interspecific hybrid of Alocasia, hereinafter referred to by its cultivar name, ‘Dark Star’. ‘Dark Star’ is a new tropical plant used as a landscape and container plant.
The new cultivar was derived from a controlled breeding program conducted by the Inventor at a nursery in Florida City, Fla. The overall purpose of the breeding program is to make selections of Alocasia plants with dark colored petioles and leaf veins, cold tolerance combined with robust plants large in size. ‘Dark Star’ arose from a cross made in spring of 2012 between an unnamed and unpatented plant of Alocasia odora as the female parent and Alocasia ‘Imperial Dark’ (not patented) as the male parent. ‘Dark Star’ was selected as a single unique plant in spring of 2015 from amongst the seedlings derived from the above cross.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished in Eustis, Fla. in 2015 using In vito propagation initiated using meristematic cell tissue culture under the direction of the Inventor. Asexual propagation by in vitro propagation has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.